Life Partner visa is issued to someone in a long term relationship.

This type of South Africa life partner visa is available to people in either heterosexual or same-sex relationships and can apply for a life partner temporary residence visa or a permanent residence depending on the length of the relationship in question.

An application for temporary residence life partner visa requires that the partners are in a proven relationship for 2 years. Foreigners who are life partners of South African citizens or permanent resident holders may apply for permanent residence if they have been together for 5 years or more in terms the Immigration Act.

To obtain permanent residence, you would have to have been living with your partner for more than 5 years. This came about with the new regulations.

The life partner visa is very similar to the spousal visa but accommodates same sex partnerships. You will have to prove financial and emotional support and may be called upon to be interviewed by the department.

SA Migration Intl will guide you through the entire process and make sure that your application is fully compliant with the immigration law to ensure a successful outcome. Once your application has been submitted we ensure you will be able to track the progress of said application either directly via VFS or via our followup processes via our application tracking system and be kept fully up to date with the progress of your application

Life Partner visa is issued to someone in a long term relationship.

This type of South Africa life partner visa is available to people in either heterosexual or same-sex relationships and can apply for a life partner temporary residence visa or a permanent residence depending on the length of the relationship in question.

An application for temporary residence life partner visa requires that the partners are in a proven relationship for 2 years. Foreigners who are life partners of South African citizens or permanent resident holders may apply for permanent residence if they have been together for 5 years or more in terms the Immigration Act.

To obtain permanent residence, you would have to have been living with your partner for more than 5 years. This came about with the new regulations.

The life partner visa is very similar to the spousal visa but accommodates same sex partnerships. You will have to prove financial and emotional support and may be called upon to be interviewed by the department.

SA Migration Intl will guide you through the entire process and make sure that your application is fully compliant with the immigration law to ensure a successful outcome. Once your application has been submitted we ensure you will be able to track the progress of said application either directly via VFS or via our followup processes via our application tracking system and be kept fully up to date with the progress of your application

Nigerian diaspora works to dispel negative image created by rogue actors such as Boko Haram, drug dealers and Hushpuppi

While it is important to debunk negative stereotypes, we should not fall into the trap of denialism and ignore or downplay the criminal activities of some unscrupulous Nigerians in the diaspora who are partly responsible for the country’s image crisis.

On Sunday, 25 July, Nigeria celebrated its 15th National Diaspora Day under the theme: “Diaspora Integration for National Peace and Development”.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration launched this event in 2006 in recognition of the diaspora’s contribution to national development. The 2021 virtual celebration, in the form of a webinar, was organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (Nidcom), an organisation that provides a platform to engage Nigerians in the diaspora in policies, projects and participation in the socioeconomic, cultural and political development of the country.

In her opening remarks, the chairperson of Nidcom, Abike Dabiri-Erewa noted the inextricable link between peace and development. Her remarks were pertinent in light of the ongoing security quagmire in Nigeria, ranging from Boko Haram terrorism to the Niger Delta crisis, the farmer-herder conflict and kidnappings by “bandits”. 

Dabiri-Erewa called on the Nigerian National Assembly to promulgate the much-anticipated law that would grant voting rights to Nigerians in the diaspora and urged the latter to be good ambassadors for their homeland in their host countries and share good practices with Nigerians at home. She concluded by debunking the negative stereotypes associated with Nigeria, noting the erroneous global opinion of Nigerians as fraudsters and drug dealers.

The director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who joined the webinar from Geneva, said that she missed Nigerian food and the hustle and bustle of Lagos and Abuja. She commended Nigerians in the diaspora for their contribution to national development, particularly through their remittances, which have been critical in sustaining the country’s economy and in the socioeconomic upliftment of households in terms of food, housing, education and small and medium-sized enterprises, to name but a few.

Given the current economic and security challenges confronting Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala urged Nigerians in the diaspora to do more towards the socioeconomic development of their homeland. She noted that she had leveraged her position to explore how Nigeria can take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to attract investment, condemn vaccine nationalism and encourage vaccine production on the continent, as well as urge key manufacturers to remove trade restrictions and invest in Nigeria and Africa.  

The deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, who is also a Nigerian, argued that the Nigerian diaspora has a critical role to play towards the attainment of peace and development in their homeland as their experience, networks and resources can help debunk anti-Nigerian sentiments, and they are well placed to project positive narratives of Africa, sensitise people on human rights issues and mobilise investment.

Like Okonjo-Iweala, she illustrated that diasporic remittances had been pivotal in reducing poverty and fulfilling the socioeconomic needs of Nigerian households. She added that the diaspora would be instrumental in Nigeria’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The invited diasporic organisations, including the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation worldwide, the Association of Nigerian American Professionals in Nigeria, the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom, the Association of Nigerian Physicians in Americas and the Nigerian and Canadian Business Network participated in a panel discussion, with each setting out their contribution to peace and development in Nigeria and the challenges they encounter.

Two key initiatives were unveiled at the meeting — the National Diaspora Policy and the National Diaspora Merit Award. The 2021 National Diaspora Policy’s vision is “to effectively promote and harness the capacity and resources of Nigerians in the Diaspora for the growth and the development of the nation”; while its mission is “to empower Nigerians in the Diaspora as change agents for the development of Nigeria through promoting a framework for them to maximise their potentials in capital, knowledge and networks”; and its goal is “constructive engagement of Nigerians in the Diaspora for sustainable national development”.

The National Diaspora Merit Award, which was announced at the meeting, is an annual event that will begin in 2022 to celebrate Nigerians in the diaspora who have distinguished themselves in fields such as agriculture; information and communication technology; science, technology and innovation; youth and sports; education; arts and tourism; and entertainment.

Against the backdrop of anti-Nigerian sentiments, Nidcom’s efforts in organising the event and launching the 2021 National Diaspora Policy and an annual National Diaspora Merit Award should be commended.  

However, to avoid the impression that this initiative is merely a public diplomacy stunt, a more nuanced perspective of Nigerians in the diaspora could be projected in future meetings. While Nigeria can pride itself on having several Okonjo-Iwealas, there are equally several Hushpuppis. In other words, to debunk negative stereotypes, we should not fall into the trap of denialism and ignore or downplay the criminal activities of some unscrupulous Nigerians in the diaspora who are partly responsible for the country’s image crisis.

Aside from the fact that the Nigerian government needs to create a business-friendly environment, if it is serious about attracting more diasporic remittances (which totalled around $25-billion in 2018) and foreign direct investment, Nidcom should address the plight of Nigerians abroad who often do not feel at home in Nigerian embassies and complain about poor services at consulate offices, and the maltreatment, including extra-judicial killings of Nigerians across the world.

This is not to suggest that the Nigerian government often assumes the role of a spectator while its citizens are dehumanised, jailed and killed. Indeed, Abike-Dabiri strongly condemned the xenophobic 2019 attacks in South Africa. However, more proactive rather than reactive measures should be considered to arrest pervasive anti-Nigerian sentiments abroad. Addressing the plight of the Nigerian diaspora in this regard could be the fillip required to strengthen state-diaspora engagement.

www.samigration.com

Zimbabwe becomes first nation to exempt SADC countries from visa requirements

Iol - 29 Jul  2021

SADC is a regional economic community whose goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 16 countries in southern Africa, Xinhua news agency reported.

Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Frederick Shava made the remarks in an official statement, saying: "Regarding the implementation of the visa exemption among SADC Member States and the facilitation of free movement of SADC citizens within the region, I wish to highlight that Zimbabwe is the first and only country that has exempted all SADC Member States from visa requirements, other SADC Member States are undertaking internal processes to ensure that SADC citizens can travel freely in the region."

African countries are relaxing visa rules for each other to boost trade and tourism facilitated by the historic free trade agreement, AfCFTA, ratified by African Union (AU) member states.

AfCFTA is an African free trade area established in 2018 to create a single continent-wide market for goods and services and to promote the movement of capital and people.

www.samigration.com

South African farmers who operate their businesses close to the country’s borders with neighbours such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, where sources of labour including semi-skilled workers abound, can apply for a bulk visa to import labour when required.

“It is crucial that farmers who want to apply to the Department of Home Affairs (“DHA”) and the Department of Labour (“DOL”) for a Corporate Visa, can prove that they first sought out unemployed South Africans for the positions”,

Bulk approval to import skills

The DHA’s Corporate Visa allows farmers to obtain bulk approval for groups of between 50 and 1,000 labourers or more to enter and work in South Africa for a period of up to three years at a time after which a renewal is required. Once this visa has been approved, workers are issued with a certificate which allows them, on presentation, to have their passports endorsed with the relevant corporate visa.

“The farmer may only need the workers on a seasonal basis but the three year validity of this visa ensures that they do not have to reapply every season when the labourers are needed on the farm,” Jacobs explains.

The visa is particularly useful for the agricultural sector, which often struggle to find local labour to fill temporary posts as seasonal workers, as many people may take the job for a month or two but then resign for personal reasons, or at times because they have found a more permanent position elsewhere.

Neighbouring country’s labour pool

There are generally large communities of people living outside towns in neighbouring countries who are seeking seasonal jobs on farms. This visa allows the farmer to apply and bring them to SA to fill specific posts of pickers, packers and sorters, for example, using a single bulk visa application. The labourers themselves do not have to worry about the application as it is entirely handled by the farms’ human resources department, which will usually outsource the process to a reputable immigration specialist with experience in the process.

Farmers have historically handled the visa application in-house, but in recent years many have opted to outsource it to a specialist to ensure a smooth and swift process.

“It is a cumbersome process, so farmers prefer to focus on their core business and to leave a specialist to handle the paperwork, which involves liaising with both the Department of Labour and the Department of Home Affairs,” Jacobs says.

As part of the process, the DOL will inspect the farm to ensure that the business is compliant with labour laws and minimum wage requirements, to ensure there is no exploitation or attempt to attract cheap labour. The DOL will also require evidence from the farmer that there has been an attempt to seek out and employ local labourers, before turning to neighbouring countries as well as an ongoing attempt to increase their local labour count. 

Apply now to avoid delays

The Corporate Visa takes as long as six to 12 Months months to obtain, from initial submission of the paper work to approval. It is advisable to consult an immigration specialist in advance to obtain the best advice and practical assistance regarding filing an application.

“This is a very attractive visa because it helps farmers solve their labour shortage challenges with one application and it provides peace of mind that they are compliant for at least three years. The visa is renewable after three years so if the farm has grown, and there is still no local labour available, or the business has expanded and still needs the workers to complement its local workforce, the departments will assess the situation and renew the visa,” Jacobs concludes.

If you are looking for advice on Agricultural Corporate Visas, please feel free to contact us